Written questions by Ribeiro-Addy.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps he is taking with Arctic nations to (a) monitor and (b) help tackle potential (i) security and (ii) environmental challenges from Arctic warming.

On his recent visit to Norway and Iceland, the Foreign Secretary saw first-hand how the Arctic has a direct bearing on the security and resilience of the UK. We are working with allies to better monitor and tackle growing threats in the Arctic including by enhancing patrols and studying the impacts of climate change. The Foreign Secretary announced new funding to use cutting edge AI technology to monitor hostile activity, and to support UK scientific collaboration in the region, while underlining the UK's commitment to the Arctic Council as the leading intergovernmental forum for Arctic cooperation.I set out the UK's approach to the Arctic during my visit and speech to the Arctic Circle Assembly on 18 October 2024 and have established a new cross-Whitehall Polar Ministerial Group to support the development and implementation of a robust and coordinated UK policy in the Polar Regions, particularly concerning the Arctic.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of recent developments in Tanzania on (a) regional stability and (b) democratic governance in East Africa.

The UK recognises Tanzania's role in the region, as a convenor and leader on climate, tackling serious and organised crime, and boosting growth and prosperity. We are following reports of recent arrests of political leaders and the treatment of opposition activists with concern. The British High Commission continues to engage with the Government of Tanzania and has called for due process to be followed accordingly.We will continue to keep issues of regional stability and democratic governance in Tanzania, and wider East Africa, under review.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the his Department plans to review its (a) bilateral relations and (b) aid commitments to Tanzania, in the context of concerns over political repression and human rights violations.

The UK continuously keeps bilateral relations and national interests under review with partner countries throughout the world. We are closely monitoring the recent arrest of opposition figures in Tanzania, and we will continue to raise Tanzania's political environment with ministerial counterparts.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will take steps to ensure that British citizens potentially involved in the commission of war crimes in Gaza are prosecuted in the UK.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) does not hold specific information on British Nationals who have served with the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). The UK recognises the right of British dual nationals to serve in the legitimately recognised armed forces of the country of their other nationality. The FCDO advises against all travel to Gaza. Israel travel advice - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Allegations of war crimes should be submitted to the Met Police for investigation.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to extradite British citizens potentially involved in the commission of war crimes in Gaza.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) does not hold specific information on British Nationals who have served with the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). The UK recognises the right of British dual nationals to serve in the legitimately recognised armed forces of the country of their other nationality. The FCDO advises against all travel to Gaza. Israel travel advice - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Allegations of war crimes should be submitted to the Met Police for investigation.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of reports of British citizens participating alongside the Israel Defense Forces during Israel's military offensive in Gaza.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) does not hold specific information on British Nationals who have served with the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). The UK recognises the right of British dual nationals to serve in the legitimately recognised armed forces of the country of their other nationality. The FCDO advises against all travel to Gaza. Israel travel advice - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Allegations of war crimes should be submitted to the Met Police for investigation.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he made of the potential impact of the reduction in Official Development Assistance funding on programmes in Ghana in the 2025-26 financial year.

The UK remains committed to a modern development partnership with Ghana. Our development partnership has seen success in supporting the Government of Ghana to deliver smart reforms in good governance, revenue, economic transformation, forestry protection and improving public services. The impact on specific programmes is being worked through following the decision to reduce UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) from 0.5 per cent of GNI to 0.3 per cent in 2027. Whilst reducing ODA will inevitably have an impact, the UK will continue to play a globally significant role in development, and work with Ghana to support growth and poverty reduction.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what funding the UK has provided to support social programmes benefiting cocoa farming communities in Ghana in the last five years.

The UK has supported a number of global programmes relevant to the cocoa sector in Ghana, most notably 'Partnerships for Forests' (£120 million for 2015-24 across six countries including Ghana) and the 'Ghana Cocoa Forest REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) Programme' (£141.5 million since 2019, of which £17 million was allocated to Ghana). In addition, a bilateral 'Ghana Agricultural Transformation Programme' (£900,000 over four years) also included investments supporting cocoa companies to trial schemes to improve cocoa farmers' livelihoods.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what initiatives his Department is supporting to strengthen cultural ties between the UK and Ghana.

The British High Commission in Accra hosts regular networking events with the Ghana diaspora to share information and build connections to promote culture, trade and investment. This includes our annual Diaspora New Year networking event hosted by the High Commissioner which gathers up to 1,000 influential people from the UK/Ghana diaspora. Through collaboration with the British Council, the UK supports emerging creative talent through the Creative Economy Programme and sponsors projects across theatre, dance, visual arts and design.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to promote educational exchanges between the UK and Ghana.

Over the last 40 years, the Government's Chevening and Commonwealth Scholarship programmes have funded Masters-level education for almost 2,500 Ghanaian nationals at UK universities. This support allows talented and motivated Ghanaians to gain knowledge and skills in areas such as education, health and STEM subjects. The British High Commission in Accra hosts an annual Young Leaders Summit on International Youth Day to highlight the UK's role in promoting educational exchanges in Ghana, to support the development of young leaders. The UK-Ghana Science Technology and Innovation strategy also recognises and celebrates dozens of university-to-university partnerships operating across the two countries.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of Ghana’s role in promoting regional security in west Africa; and what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on supporting that role.

The UK and Ghana have a long-standing security and defence partnership, built upon Ghana's role as an exporter of security and stability. The UK welcomes the commitment by President Mahama to address regional security challenges and Ghana's appointment of an envoy to the Alliance of Sahelian States. During the Minister for Africa's recent visit to Ghana in January 2025, he welcomed President Mahama's intention to play an active role in bringing more security and stability to the region, whilst highlighting the UK's readiness to maintain close security cooperation.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Ghanaian counterpart on strengthening UK-Ghana diplomatic relations.

The UK has a close relationship with Ghana, underpinned by a shared history, shared Commonwealth values and a respected and important Ghanaian diaspora. The recent visit of the Deputy Prime Minister to Ghana signals the importance this Government places on strengthened diplomatic relations, underscored in her meetings with President Mahama and the Ghanaian Foreign Minister. The Foreign Secretary has also written to Foreign Minister Ablakwa following his appointment, to extend his warm wishes and desire to strengthen our bilateral partnership. Finally, we see real potential in forging a mutually beneficial partnership for growth with Ghana, and we look forward to working with the UK Trade Envoy to Ghana to deliver this.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to ensure funding for education is protected in the planned reduction of ODA.

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office is a thought-leader in education and we continue to support harnessing educational opportunities for long-term growth and prosperity. We work in partnership with Global South governments to share policy expertise and pioneering education research and evidence to improve foundational learning, strengthen education systems, and improve quality of education particularly for the most marginalised. We are also unlocking additional education finance through mechanisms such as the innovative International Finance Facility for Education.Detailed decisions on how the Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget will be used are being worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that its development funding in Tanzania is not implicated in the forced evictions of the Maasai people.

The UK works hard to uphold human rights around the world and UK Ministers and officials regularly raise human rights concerns with our international partners, including the Government of Tanzania.We have robust measures in place to ensure our aid spending is strictly monitored, and we work with the Independent Commission for Aid Impact to apply the highest standards to our programmes.Further information about our programmes can be found at Devtracker.fcdo.gov.uk.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his Tanzanian counterpart on alleged reports of (a) forced evictions, (b) excessive use of force and (c) arbitrary detention of Maasai people in Tanzania.

The British High Commission in Dar es Salaam continues to meet with stakeholders on this issue, including the Government of Tanzania, Maasai community leaders and civil society representatives, to better understand the challenges faced by all parties. This is a complex and important matter, and we will continue to encourage all involved to engage in meaningful dialogue.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to review the adequacy of revenue raising mechanisms for climate reparations ahead of COP30 in Belem.

Countries in the Global South are disproportionately affected by the impacts of climate change, and we are committed to partnering with these countries to address the climate and nature crisis and accelerate the clean energy transition.We are committed to helping deliver global climate finance, including the New Collective Quantified Goal agreed at COP29 of at least $300 billion per year to developing countries by 2035, and responding to the wider call on all actors to increase climate finance to developing countries to £1.3 trillion per year. As part of that effort, we consider specific revenue raising mechanisms on a case-by-case basis, and we are pressing for faster and more ambitious reforms to the global financial system to deliver much more and higher quality climate and development finance. This is not about reparations. The UK government's position on reparations has not changed.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether a Minister will attend the Third Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in March 2025.

The Government does not believe the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) will bring us closer to a world without nuclear weapons. The UK will not sign, ratify or engage with the Treaty and will not send Observers to the Third Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW. The Government firmly believes that the best way to achieve our collective goal of a world without nuclear weapons is through gradual multilateral disarmament negotiated using a step-by-step approach, under the framework of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support people leaving Afghanistan on humanitarian grounds.

In the first year after the Taliban takeover, the UK provided £17 million to support partners in Afghanistan's neighbouring countries. This support assisted Afghan migrants and asylum seekers moving across borders, and refugee and host communities in those countries. We are also planning £161 million of funding to Afghanistan this financial year (2024-5), which includes both humanitarian aid and support for essential services in Afghanistan. We continue to monitor the situation closely.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his department has plans to increase funding for (a) NGOs and (b) human rights defenders operating in Afghanistan who are promoting the human rights of (i) women, (ii) girls, (iii) LGBTQ+ people and (iv) religious and (v)non-religious minorities.

Ministers are reviewing the FCDO's Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget to ensure it delivers on our priorities. We are committed to transparency and will publish ODA allocations for 2024-25. We are planning £161 million in aid this financial year (2024-25), with 50 per cent targeted for women and girls. UK funding supports several NGOs who promote human rights in Afghanistan, including those of women and minorities. We also contribute to an Afghanistan Resilience Trust Fund project that supports civil society, particularly women-led organisations.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if his Department will take steps to facilitate the return of Chagossians to Diego Garcia.

Following the agreement reached on 3 October, we will work with Mauritius to restart visits to the islands as soon as possible, including Diego Garcia, for Chagossians. In addition, Mauritius will be free to implement a programme of resettlement on the islands other than Diego Garcia.